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You've Been Away So Long

by Alice Howe

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1.
Every night I have the strangest dream All these ghosts are talking to me I lay down in my bed and I can hardly sleep These homeland blues have got a hold of me I went over to my cousin’s house To see if we couldn’t figure it out He said it’s plain to see, you’ve got them homeland blues What hope have I got if what you’re sayin’ is true And I got them homeland blues Tried to tell you I got them homeland blues Got them homeland blues Honey pull over I got them homeland blues Sooner I get my ticket Sooner I’ll come runnin back to you I asked my mother do you know what I mean She could hardly look up at me Eyes to her paper and I knew she had them too Eyes to her coffee and I knew she had them too Have you ever missed something that you never even had You’re down so low and you feel so bad That’s when you know you got them homeland blues That’s when you know that you got them homeland blues And I got them homeland blues Tried to tell you I got them homeland blues Got them homeland blues Honey pull over I got them homeland blues Sooner I get my ticket Sooner I’ll come runnin back to you Well I went outside and I couldn’t get a cab All distracted from the night we had Sat down on the curb, nursing my homeland blues Down on the curb and I’m nursing my homeland blues My American soul gets lonely sometimes I take a walk and it clears my mind And I hold you tight to shake my homeland blues I hold on tight just to shake my homeland blues And I got them homeland blues Tried to tell you I got them homeland blues Got them homeland blues Honey pull over I got them homeland blues If home is where I left it, the sooner I’ll come running back to you
2.
Gone in a flash, gone in a flame Gone in the dark, gone when I call your name Under a wave, under the ground Under my skin and still you hardly make a sound I look back and still I see nothing Nothing but you A cabin floor, a piece of gold I’ll take anything, anything my hands can hold A dream that lingers in the light And leaves you stumbling back toward that gentle night I look back and still I see nothing Nothing but you What if I wake to find I was mistaken this whole time But if I’d never lost you You may never have been mine Gone in the winter, gone in the spring Leaves were falling I swear I heard you sing Summer’s come, and I look around Still you’re nowhere, no you’re nowhere to be found I look back and still I see nothing Nothing but you
3.
When you hit your stride on a Monday night At a half-empty bar downtown Having nowhere to hide and nothing to lose Sure helps keep your feet on the ground Ooo, make a fool out of me That’s what I live for, that’s what I need A man that dies laughing is a wise man indeed So won’t you please make a fool out of me I’d come straight out of nowhere to the Hollywood Hills And surely there was no guarantee That my slight of hand, so carefully planned Would turn the world’s eyes upon me Ooo, make a fool out of me That’s what I live for, that’s what I need A man that dies laughing is a wise man indeed So won’t you please make a fool out of me There was one little voice at the edge of my mind Asking when I might get a real job And another much louder dead-center in my heart That pushed me on from town to town Ooo, make a fool out of me That’s what I live for, that’s what I need A man that dies laughing is a wise man indeed So won’t you please make a fool out of me I’ve heard it said that your fate is revealed Slowly as you go along But a magic man’s glove if it’s thrown hard enough Will take on the wings of a dove Ooo, make a fool out of me That’s what I live for, that’s what I need A man that dies laughing is a wise man indeed So won’t you please make a fool out of me
4.
If anyone asks me how I made it through I say it’s a full tank of gas and that picture of you One will take me a few states north And the other reminds me what I’m driving for Don’t worry honey, 'cause ain’t nothing gonna turn out right Come on in a little closer now and turn out your reading light The shadows in your eyes have been scaring me to death It was always in the dark that I liked you best If all these miles have taught me anything It’s what a lovely mess I’ve made And what an artful job I’ve done Of documenting every one Don’t worry honey, 'cause ain’t nothing gonna turn out right Come on in a little closer now and turn out your reading light The shadows in your eyes have been scaring me to death It was always in the dark that I liked you best
5.
I walked out in a storm the other night I went out into the river as it raged above its banks the other night And I was sure the current would part around my waist But I reached out for your hand, I admit I was afraid Strong swimmer though I know myself to be Hey darlin, you’ve been away so long Hey darlin, you’ve been away so long See how the trees have grown since you’ve been gone I went down, I went down to the water’s edge I went down to the water as the sun sank low behind the ridge The last deep breath of summer lies blazing in the sky One step toward those mountains and I’d grow the wings to fly Every whisper of the waves upon the shore tells me so Hey darlin, you’ve been away so long Hey darlin, you’ve been away so long See how my garden’s grown since you’ve been gone Hey darlin, you’ve been away so long Hey darlin, you’ve been away so long See how the trees have grown since you’ve been gone

credits

released March 24, 2017

Alice Howe - Vocals, acoustic guitar
Jeff Fielder - Vocal harmony, dobro, acoustic & electric guitar
Moe Provencher - Electric bass

Recorded and mixed by Moe Provencher at The Duplex in Seattle, WA.
Mastered by Doug Hammer at Dreamworld Productions in Lynn, MA.
Graphic design by Pat Broadgate.

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Alice Howe Boston, Massachusetts

To hear Alice Howe sing is to be enraptured by the natural, unaffected beauty of her voice. There’s no artifice, no histrionics — just honest, authentic, emotionally resonant singing in the tradition of the roots music that shaped her.

Her second and latest album, Circumstance, was recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals and produced by her creative partner Freebo (Bonnie Raitt).
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